The AMD Ryzen leaks and benchmarks just keep on coming! The latest one is for the 6 core 12 thread 1600X. This is a 95W Black Edition processor with a base clock speed of 3.3GHz and a Turbo clock speed of 3.7GHz and is due to launch on March 2nd at $259.
Unlike the recent highly suspicious alleged Cinebench R15 benchmarks that have popped up on some Chinese PC forums, this new leak has a clearly visible Ryzen processor ID with specs that exactly match that of the Ryzen 5 1600X.
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 95W CPU - Slightly Faster, Significantly More Affordable, Than Intel's 140W i7 6800K
To compare the score of the chip we borrowed the below Cinebench R15 multi-threaded performance graph from Anandtech.com and added the Ryzen 1600X.
Impressively, the 1600X which carries a similar price-tag to the unlocked Kaby Lake Core i5 7600K manages to punch two hundred dollars above its weight and slightly outperofrm the much more expensive $430 i7 6800K. This is despite running at 100MHz below the Intel Broadwell-E six core. This suggests that the Zen microarchitecture may be a much more formidable IPC contender than we previously thought, outperforming Broadwell core for core and clock for clock, at a lower wattage. Very impressive indeed.
AMD Ryzen Outshining Intel At Every Price Point
Wccftech | Cores/Threads | L3 | TDP | Base | Turbo | XFR | Overclocking Unlocked | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMD Ryzen 7 1800X | 8/16 | 16MB | 95W | 3.6GHz | 4.0GHz | 4.0GHz+ | Yes | $489 |
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X | 8/16 | 16MB | 95W | 3.4GHz | 3.8GHz | 3.8GHz+ | Yes | $389 |
AMD Ryzen 7 1700 | 8/16 | 16MB | 65W | 3.0GHz | 3.7GHz | N/A | Yes | $319 |
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X | 6/12 | 16MB | 95W | 3.3GHz | 3.7GHz | 3.7GHz+ | Yes | $259 |
AMD Ryzen 5 1500 | 6/12 | 16MB | 65W | 3.2GHz | 3.5GHz | N/A | Yes | $229 |
AMD Ryzen 5 1400X | 4/8 | 8MB | 65W | 3.5GHz | 3.9GHz | 3.9GHz+ | Yes | $199 |
AMD Ryzen 5 1300 | 4/8 | 8MB | 65W | 3.2GHz | 3.5GHz | N/A | Yes | $175 |
AMD Ryzen 3 1200X | 4/4 | 8MB | 65W | 3.4GHz | 3.8GHz | 3.8GHz+ | Yes | $149 |
AMD Ryzen 3 1100 | 4/4 | 8MB | 65W | 3.2GHz | 3.5GHz | N/A | Yes | $129 |
AMD Ryzen 7 1800X, 1700X & 1700 - 8 Core, 16 Thread CPUs From $319 To $499
AMD will offer at least three 8-core 16-thread Ryzen CPUs initially. Two 95 watt Black Editions, the 1800X and the 1700X, as well as a 65W 1700 chip. These CPUs perform competitively with Intel's $1000+ 8-core 16-thread i7 6900K and 5960X whilst coming at a half to one third the price.
AMD Ryzen CPU | Cores | Threads | L3 | TDP | Base | Turbo | XFR Unlimited Turbo | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMD Ryzen 7 1800X | 8 | 16 | 16MB | 95W | 3.6GHz | 4.0GHz | 4.0Ghz+ Cooling Dependent | $499 |
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X | 8 | 16 | 16MB | 95W | 3.4GHz | 3.8GHz | 3.8Ghz+ Cooling Dependent | $389 |
AMD Ryzen 7 1700 | 8 | 16 | 16MB | 65W | 3.0Ghz | 3.7GHz | No | $319 |
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X & 1500 - 6 Core, 12 Thread CPUs From $229 To $259
In the mid range AMD will actually offer 6-core 12-thread CPUs that'll compete at the same price bracket that's currently occupied by Intel's flock of i5 chips. We'll have two Ryzen CPUs in this segment initially. A Ryzen 5 1600X 95W Black Edition and a Ryzen 5 1500 65W chip. Just like the 1800 Pro, we've seen references to a 1600 Pro but we've yet to confirm the specs of this chip.
AMD Ryzen CPU | Cores | Threads | L3 | TDP | Base | Turbo | XFR Unlimited Turbo | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X | 6 | 12 | 16MB | 95W | 3.3Ghz | 3.7Ghz | 3.7Ghz+ Cooling Dependent | $259 |
AMD Ryzen 5 1500 | 6 | 12 | 16MB | 65W | 3.2Ghz | 3.4Ghz | N/A | $229 |
AMD Ryzen 5 1400X & 1300, - 4 Core, 8 Thread CPUs From $199 To $175
Continuing our focus on the medium range, the Ryzen 5 1400X and 1300 offer the same kind of specifications and performance you'd expect from an i7 quad-core chip albeit at slightly lower clock speeds and for around two thirds to a half of the cost. For mainstream CPUs these are quite incredible..
AMD Ryzen CPU | Cores | Threads | L3 | TDP | Base | Turbo | XFR Unlimited Turbo | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMD Ryzen 5 1400X | 4 | 8 | 8MB | 65W | 3.5GHz | 3.9GHz | 3.9Ghz+ Cooling Dependent | $199 |
AMD Ryzen 5 1300 | 4 | 8 | 8MB | 65W | 3.3GHz | 3.6GHz | N/A | $175 |
AMD Ryzen 3 1200X & 1100, - 4 Core, 4 Thread CPUs From $149 To $129
At the entry level of the Ryzen stack we have two quad-core chips without multi-threading. Amazingly, both of these chips are actually cheaper than Intel's dual core i3 7350K. It's worthy of note that all Ryzen chips feature fully unlocked multipliers. So all Ryzen chips are overclocking ready right out of the box. You won't have to pay extra for an unlocked chip like you'd normally do on the Intel side. So long as you have an X370 or B350 AM4 motherboard, you're good to go.
AMD Ryzen CPU | Cores | Threads | L3 | TDP | Base | Turbo | XFR Unlimited Turbo | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMD Ryzen 7 1800X | 8 | 16 | 16MB | 95W | 3.6GHz | 4.0GHz | 4.0Ghz+ Cooling Dependent | $499 |
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X | 8 | 16 | 16MB | 95W | 3.4GHz | 3.8GHz | 3.8Ghz+ Cooling Dependent | $389 |
AMD Ryzen 7 1700 | 8 | 16 | 16MB | 65W | 3.0Ghz | 3.7GHz | No | $319 |
AMD Ryzen On The Desktop - Overclocking & Chipsets
- All Ryzen CPUs will be multiplier unlocked and ready for overclocking right out of the box. There will be no locked Ryzen CPUs.
- AMD's X370, X300 and even mid-range B350 chipsets support overclocking. Only AM4's entry-level A320 and A300 chipsets lack this feature. AMD explains that this is because the A320 and A300 chipsets are designed to go into entry-level motherboards that would inherently be unsuitable for overclocking due to component and cost limitations.
- AM4 compatible aftermarket air and liquid cooling solutions will be available on day one.
AM4 X370, B350 & A320 Chipset Motherboards
Ryzen compatible AM4 socket motherboards will come in four different chipset flavors. The X370 chipset is the high-end enthusiast focused contender with the latest and greatest technology and the most robust set of features. The B350 is the mid-range chipset where users will be able to get a lot of functionality and versatility at a more attractive price point. The A300 chipset is the entry-level chipset for more budget constrained computer builds.
AMD Ryzen AM4 Motherboards & Chipsets
Wccftech | X370 | B350 | A320 | X300 |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCIe 3 Lanes | 24 | 24 | TBA | TBA |
CrossfireX/SLI | Tri-Fire/2-Way SLI | TBC | N/A | N/A |
PCIe 2 Lanes | 8 | 6 | TBA | TBA |
USB 3.1 Gen2 | 2 | 2 | TBA | TBA |
USB 3.1 Gen1 | 8 | 4 | TBA | TBA |
USB 2 | 6 | 6 | TBA | TBA |
SATA 6Gb/s | 8 | 6 | TBA | 8 |
DDR4 DIMMs | 4 | 4 | TBA | 2 |
Overclocking Support | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
NVMe | Yes | Yes | TBA | TBA |
Form Factor | ATX | ATX, M-ATX | M-ATX, Mini-ITX | Mini-ITX |
Estimated Price Range | ~$129+ | ~$99-$59 | ~$129+ |
Overclocking A Ryzen CPU
AMD made a big fuss at CES about how all Ryzen CPUs will have unlocked frequency multipliers to facilitate easy overclocking. This means that users will be able to overclock any one of the 17 SKUs that we've seen to date by simply pairing their CPU with a mid-range B350 or high-end X370 AM4 motherboard and raising the frequency multiplier inside the motherboard's UEFI/BIOS interface. In comparison, Intel has just three CPUs in its entire Kaby Lake lineup that are unlocked for overclocking.
Another interesting bit that we have reported on in one of our Ryzen exclusives a while back is Ryzen's amazing XFR feature, short for Extended Frequency Range. Which allows every Ryzen CPU to automatically overclock itself and exceed its default boost clock speed whenever the thermal environment allows. This means that if you invest in a cooling solution that's better than AMD's Wraith, your Ryzen chip will automatically operate at higher clock speeds than what's written on the box, rewarding you with more performance.
Three New Ryzen Coolers With RGB Lighting
This segues us neatly into talking about Ryzen’s two brand new boxed coolers in addition to what appears to be an aesthetic update to the beloved Wraith cooler which debuted last year. The first of the three will come with 65W rated Ryzen CPUs, the second is for 95W CPUs and the third will likely be paired with Ryzen Black Editions. Black Editions are said to have the letter X at the end of their model numbers, like the 1800X and the 1700X for example. This is merely educated conjecture at this point. We won’t know for sure until the end of the month.
The Wraith cooler features four copper heatpipes, the largest thermal mass by far of any stock processor heatsink that we've seen and a near silent fan that's considerably larger and more more effective than any of AMD's previous stock CPU cooling solutions. In fact, you wouldn't be able to guess that the Wraith unit is a stock CPU heatsink rather than a high-end aftermarket low profile unit had it not been for the AMD branding on the shroud.
If the above photo of Radeon Technologies Group Chief Graphics Architect Raja Koduri is anything to go by, all three new coolers will feature LED lighting. Perhaps even customizable RGB lighting. Seeing how magenta is not AMD's corporate or brand color, it's likely that Raja chose that custom color.
AMD Back In The High-End Desktop
It's clear that AMD has done a lot of things right with Zen. Pushing IPC and power efficiency to where they need to be. Building a comprehensive modern platform and bringing much needed updates to the featureset. Creating an attractive value proposition for desktop users, servers and notebooks. All the ingredients to make Zen a success are here.
The mere prospect that enthusiasts may actually have AMD CPUs as a worthwhile option again for the first time in a decade come March 2nd is refreshing. We're mere weeks away from knowing whether we'll finally be able to say AMD's back!
Reviews for AMD's upcoming Ryzen CPUs and accompanying motherboards are expected to go live on the 28th of February. The new products are expected to go on sale two days later on the 2nd of March.